The Tucker, the Refs and the Fish and Chips

[UPennChem]

Exactly. We seem resigned to using Zay in the short game (which I certainly support) but he can clearly do more. I don’t know. Just feels safe and conservative. Not saying we need to go out there and throw bombs every drive but there’s certainly more room to try to get that game working.

It's completely undeniable that Lamar is not throwing deep balls at nearly the rate he was with even GRo.

It's funny. I think Monken has largely been fine. But this offense feels even more restrictive than Roman's. The thing is Roman's was not capable of being balanced. Monken's is, he's just purposefully not doing it.

 

[airconteka]

We got the the win. Offence is still a work in progress, I feel like the OL will get better with time. No drops, no fumbles and no meltdown after Lamars INT were my biggest concerns so if we keep that up I'm feeling a lot more confident.

 

[Truth]

Exactly. We seem resigned to using Zay in the short game (which I certainly support) but he can clearly do more. I don’t know. Just feels safe and conservative. Not saying we need to go out there and throw bombs every drive but there’s certainly more room to try to get that game working.

Agreed. I think we also are using him a bit as an extension of the running game given our ineffectiveness there. But I would certainly like to see him used more downfield as well.

 

[airconteka]

And for a team with no pass rush, we are leading the league in sacks

 

[RavensMania]

I mean doesn’t Lamar have the option to audible to a different play? I can’t believe 2 play calls are that close to the same every down.
I really think it’s more of a confidence in execution issue at this point more than an ultra conservative game plan.
Thinking as they get more in sync we’ll see a more creative offense, at least I hope so or we’ll be in trouble.

of course he does and has done that on multiple occasions per game

 

[SaltyDog]

Flowers has 4 catches of 20+, which is Top 10 across the league, and that's with the stumble last week, which likely would've been a TD. I think we've got people that can stretch the field. Bateman has solid speed too.

Bateman has 10 catches in 6 games for 86 yards. OBJ has 9 catches for 113 yards. These are supposed to be our #2 & #3 wr’s. Not a lot of production there. Agholor has been better with 16 catches for 210 yards. We need more out of Bateman & OBJ before this offense becomes legit.

 

[Simba]

Bateman has 10 catches in 6 games for 86 yards. OBJ has 9 catches for 113 yards. These are supposed to be our #2 & #3 wr’s. Not a lot of production there. Agholor has been better with 16 catches for 210 yards. We need more out of Bateman & OBJ before this offense becomes legit.

Also talking about a guy that missed 1 full game and part of another (Bateman) and a guy that missed 2 games and parts of 2 more (Odell). Not saying that we don't need more, but not a direct comparison in that regard.

 

[Truth]

Bateman has 10 catches in 6 games for 86 yards. OBJ has 9 catches for 113 yards. These are supposed to be our #2 & #3 wr’s. Not a lot of production there. Agholor has been better with 16 catches for 210 yards. We need more out of Bateman & OBJ before this offense becomes legit.

The conversation above is regarding our deep usage. Regarding the overall picture, the WRs certainly need to step up. Last week being perhaps an outlier, but still an example of such. That said, they also need the opportunities to do so. Bateman and Beckham Jr. have just 7 combined targets beyond 10 yards. Agholor by himself has 11 this year. Flowers has 15 (understandably so). At some point, I hope we get to see more of them to see what they have.

 

[BoredMarine13]

I’d completely disagree with that. Any of our top 5 should be able to stretch the field at minimum, even if it’s not a pure speed thing

Nah man, on paper they should be but reality is different. Outside of young flowers were cheeks when it comes to deep threats.

Batemen should be the guys but he isn’t there mentally, Odell doesn’t have the burst post injury, and we know who Duv is he’s just not a serious threat
I could get on board with Agholor being used more since he has some speed left

 

[Michael M.]

Bateman has 10 catches in 6 games for 86 yards. OBJ has 9 catches for 113 yards. These are supposed to be our #2 & #3 wr’s. Not a lot of production there. Agholor has been better with 16 catches for 210 yards. We need more out of Bateman & OBJ before this offense becomes legit.

Flowers, Andrews, Agholor, that's it. Rest of WR'S are below average and remaining TE's are invisible.

 

[Simba]

Nah man, on paper they should be but reality is different. Outside of young flowers were cheeks when it comes to deep threats.

Batemen should be the guys but he isn’t there mentally, Odell doesn’t have the burst post injury, and we know who Duv is he’s just not a serious threat
I could get on board with Agholor being used more since he has some speed left

It's not just about speed though. We literally spent an entire season using Miles Boykin to draw a deep S. If he can do it, so can Bateman and Beckham, regardless of their current struggles.

 

[BoredMarine13]

And for a team with no pass rush, we are leading the league in sacks

Kyle Van Noy was all over the place today. He and Clowney are saving our asses.

 

[BoredMarine13]

It's not just about speed though. We literally spent an entire season using Miles Boykin to draw a deep S. If he can do it, so can Bateman and Beckham, regardless of their current struggles.

I just don’t see Bate or Beckham separating well so far regardless of route

 

[Simba]

I just don’t see Bate or Beckham separating well so far regardless of route

I can buy it on Beckham at this point. I still don't see teams just letting him run 1 on 1 consistently, but can at least understand the thought process.

Bateman is certainly struggling right now but he is far from a slouch as a downfield threat.

 

[SaltyDog]

The conversation above is regarding our deep usage. Regarding the overall picture, the WRs certainly need to step up. Last week being perhaps an outlier, but still an example of such. That said, they also need the opportunities to do so. Bateman and Beckham Jr. have just 7 combined targets beyond 10 yards. Agholor by himself has 11 this year. Flowers has 15 (understandably so). At some point, I hope we get to see more of them to see what they have.

Agee with this. The point I was making earlier was that in order to have a deep passing game it takes more than just one legit wr. I understand the injuries but the point is still valid.

 

[QtR Nevermore]

Some thoughts:
- Jackson is playing out of his mind and carrying an offense that otherwise underperforms
- Andrews is still himself
- Agholor is really good value compared to others...
- The OL looked bad overall, especially IOL runblocking
- The ILBs continue to dominate
- Stone is awesome. Don't think we win without his int
- Stout has really imoroved over the last few games

Finally, Hamilton's ejection was warranted. That shit is not ok, and I hope that the league consistently eject *and* suspend for helmet hits on defenseless receivers Hamilton also concussed their TE with an unflagged headshot. Not sure if that was a foul or not, but not a good look today

Been reading through this thread and, after all the strange takes, it's nice to see something I can 100% agree with.

 

[Truth]

Agee with this. The point I was making earlier was that in order to have a deep passing game it takes more than just one legit wr. I understand the injuries but the point is still valid.

That feels like an arbitrary prerequisite. Justin Fields leads in the NFL in completions and TDs above 20 yards, 13 with 6 TDs to no INTs, and they don't have a weekly productive WR outside of D.J. Moore. It's arguably the one aspect Chicago has excelled in. Cutting the legs off of the deep passing game and averting looks because of our doubts about our players will turn it into a self-fulfilling prophecy. I'd prefer to at least give them the looks to see how effective they can be, then decide off of what they do or don't do.

 

[redrum52]

And for a team with no pass rush, we are leading the league in sacks

I think the pass rush sees a boost when Oweh is back.

Agree with most but will go to bat for Kyle. Dont like the ejection. Shit was weak. He is trying to make a play and he's 6'4. It wasn't like he left his feet and launched. I've watched guys connect on punches to the face and they don't eject them. I don't wanna hear this. I'm not talking about Watt

 

[QtR Nevermore]

Thankfully we won, to wash (some of) the taste of last week away. I'd never been so annoyed by a game as that one, so I avoided all things Ravens all week.

Queen was immense. With hindsight, his 5th year option would have been a bargain but I was glad we didn't pick it up at the time. Still, he's goig to get us a 3rd round comp pick with the way he's playing.

 

[QtR Nevermore]

I've had a problem with Monken's first down play calling all season but today was particularly bad. All those 2-3 yard 1st down runs just put Lamar in an unecessarily difficult position on every set of downs. And all the passing plays that seem to be designed to get 3 yards are just as bad.

I wonder if Harbaugh's mandating that, because Monken was pretty bombs away in Tampa. You can see that Harbaugh still doesn't trust this newfangled 'passing' business by he way he's gone so conservative on 4th downs. When it was Roman and the running game he had no problem with going for it.